Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 12 Number 1, April 2011
___________________________________________________________________
Orwin, Donna Tussing. Conseuqences of Consciousness: Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2007. 238p. ISBN 978-0804757034. $55.00 HB
Reviewed by
Utah State University
If all Russian writers came from Gogol’s overcoat, then we might hazard that most 20th c. writers, western and eastern alike, were influenced by the great Russian realists, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and above all, Dostoevsky himself, who honored Gogol with his above adage. Though the influence is palpable, its intricate and often intimate nature needed a closer look by someone dedicated to an in-depth look. That is exactly what Orwin has accomplished with her book.
In Consequences of Consciousness, Orwin categorizes the work of the above realists as psychological realism and argues that what makes Russian psychological realism unique is the illuminating interest in the individual as fundamentally sociable – as opposed to alienated western literary counterparts. She posits that even when the identity is negative in, say, Turgenev’s stories, it is so with a strong yearning for company. Clearly, Orwin sets out to rectify the generally adopted view that Russian psychological individualism is intrinsically individualistic. As well, she emphasizes the dramatic evolution of the Russian self-consciousness and its lush blossoming without – or possibly in spite of – the historical contemporary nationalism sweeping across Europe.
In this expertly researched book that manages to provide information on a keen academic level yet without muddling jargon, Orwin offers insight into the intelligence exchanged among the three authors. In even more detail, a chapter for each author, she follows how these “authors “developed narrative strategies to depict subjectivity without demeaning it” (5). The author also dedicates two chapters to discussing how the Russians understood the self other than an individualist one and then moves on to show the significance of reflection as a tool for grasping the essence of self.
Possibly the most intriguing reads are the last two chapters of the book, one discussing the difference between Tolstoy’s and Dostoevsky’s understanding of childhood innocence – or lack of it; and the other one immersing the reader in a deeper look at “The Psychology of Evil in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.” In the latter chapter, Orwin illustrates how each author studies the horrifying depths of reasonable consciousness in characters who commit the ultimate crime. One would hope the chapter to delve into the psyche of the penultimate character who commits two most violent murders and reflects on his self-consciousness of it being or not being a crime in society’s eyes, but Raskolnikov is only briefly mentioned in the whole of the book.
Consequences of Consciousness lends itself beautifully both as a course reader and a layperson’s book – Orwin’s crisp and clear prose is accessible for a variety of audiences, possibly because her writing emerged from her course materials on the subject. One can only wish for more similarly reader-oriented academic endeavor.